Twenty-four-year-old photographer's apprentice Regina has always felt like the plain, dull orange next to the shiny red apple that is her best friend Lana. But then she meets Ben—the first guy to ever break Lana's heart, and the first guy to ever make Regina feel that he only has eyes for her. As Regina finds herself falling hard for Ben, she also finds herself breaking all the rules of best-friendship. Will she give up the love of her life for Lana, or will she finally realize that she deserves her share of the spotlight, too?

When Sparks Fly can be read as a standalone novel, but it is also a prequel to Ines Bautista-Yao's other book Only A Kiss.

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Virginia Gantioqui

5.0 out of 5 starsLove in the 90s!

15 August 2016 - Published on Amazon.com

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Anything written by Ines Bautista-Yao is an absolute must-buy for me. And when I learned that When Sparks Fly is a sort of prequel to Only a Kiss (which I adored! Read it if you haven’t!), I couldn't help but squee in glee. And yes, that rhymes. That’s how much I was excited about this book.And it did not disappoint!!!At once I empathized with Regina and the layers she used to protect herself from hurt. She loves her best friend Lana, but at the same time, there’s a hint of resentment---after all, Lana always gets the guys.Hold on right there. This is no evil-best-friend takes advantage of the kind-hearted-wimpy-heroine story. Because Lana, though flighty, is adorable and true. And Regina, well she’s no pushover. It’s just that they have issues . . . insecurities . . . small things that are natural in the course of their long relationship . . . not enough to break them, but not big enough to discuss at random.That’s where Ben comes in. The only guy to break Lana’s heart, he’s not only attractive, but also persistent. And he’s interested in Regina.Yep, that throws her for a loop because she’s attracted to him too.Regina loves Lana. So of course she hems and haws and tries to push Ben away. But ultimately, love triumphs and happiness reigns (the story isn’t as straightforward as this, but I’m trying not to give the whole thing away).Aside from Ben and Regina, I enjoyed all the supporting characters . . . Lana and Paulo (Hihihi. I totes ship this), Nicolas (Drool. He totally deserves his own book!), Alexa (Ooo! I wanted to strangle her!), and of course, Katie and Chris (from Only A Kiss) made a cameo! Hihihi.One other thing I loved---the story is set in the 90s! I’m a GenXer and I loooved all the fashion (jeans that didn't cut off your circulation!) and song (I don’t care who you are as long as you love me) references.This story is not only about love . . . it’s about friendship, sacrifice, courage, and self-discovery. Read it. Because a story like this deserves to be read :-)

What to expect in When Sparks Fly, basically: on-point everything. Yep, that’s right.

Regina has gotten so used being the better compared to her best friend, Lana’s best. So she kinda felt off-balanced when Ben, the only guy who broke Lana’s heart started the moves on her. It just got so much more confusing because he’s the first and only one who’s consistent enough not to give up on her. She loves her best friend but she’s starting to like Ben already. So what’s it going to be?

If love triangle is not your thing, then congratulations you’re in the right track. Because two girls and a guy, right? But I’m telling you it is so not a love triangle. It’s friendship, love, self-discovery and encouragement in one awesome story. Everything about it won me over.

Lana is Regina’s best friend. And I absolutely do not hate her. I just can’t. Because even when she’s all beautiful and confident and gets what she wants most of the time, she is not mean, not a bitch. And that’s even harder for me, if you’d like to ask. Let’s face it—can you hate a kind person? Almost too perfect and kind person? On second thought… yes, you can. Life’s really unfair sometimes. Anyway! Lana got her heart broken because of Ben.

Ben who is a sportscaster. A cute, smart, mabango (smells really good) AND funny (translation: perfect) sports freaking caster who is also not hate-able. Not a d-bag, not an a-hole. Maybe a bit too caring but he’s okay. In fact, he’s so charming I want to squeeze his cheeks! Also a ninja (or a mushroom whichever you prefer) because he does things ninja-style AND he seems to appear in places you don’t expect him to. But only with and for Regina. If I could carry him with me all the time, I would. He’s that kind of guy… and not just that kind of guy.

Regina/Reg whose talent in photography is splendid. And so is her level of patience when it comes to things. (Eeep. Nerve Hit #1) I love how she brushed off Ben when they first met and how she put him in his place. Atta girl!! I understand her insecurities like the back of my hand and how she worked around it to not get it in the way. (Nerve Hit #2) She’s the girl who underwent a 180 degree development and I really loved her for that.

And then there were the secondary characters like Tita Beverly, little Katie and Chris, Tony, Mang Mario and Paulo. They just blended so well together in the story but not in the overwhelming kind of way. And the boys—Nicolas and company. And Alexa. (Ugh.)

To say that I enjoyed reading When Sparks Fly was an understatement because with the easygoing and funny banter between the characters, the familiar warmth of the settings (because Negros Occidental and breakfast), believable progression of the story, and even when my feelings were played once, twice, thrice, I pretty much savoured it. Savoured.

It shouldn’t go without saying that it’s topped with the writing prowess of THE Ines Bautista-Yao like a cherry on top, and filled with these little cutesy things that made the story even cuter and more adorable. It’s totally light, very kilig (even when heat level is next to nothing and they’re already adults, I forgive you Ines don’t worry) and oh-so romantic. You don’t have to worry about which team you’re going to root for (#TeamBoyfriend or #TeamBestFriend) because it’s kind of predictable but Ines definitely thrown in a lot of things to make it interesting and definitely worth your while. Everything just played out so nicely and I loved every page turn.

Overall, When Sparks Fly is yet another proudly-Pinoy masterpiece that would leave you feeling so satisfied. And you shouldn't miss!